ASSIGNMENT

1. DOCTRINE OF CO-EQUAL BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT IN

RELATION WITH THE CONCEPT OF SEPARATION OF POWERS.

Principle: Each of the three great branches of government has exclusive cognizance of and is
supreme in matters falling within its own constitutionally allocated sphere. Prevents from
invading the domain of others.

Legislature (Power of the Purse) – enactment of laws; may not enforce or apply them
(Sec. 1 Art. 6)
Legislative Power- is given to the Legislature whose members hold office for a
fixed term.
Executive (Power of Sword) – enforcement of laws; may not enact or apply them (Sec. 1
Art. 7)
Executive Power- is given to a separate Executive who holds office for a fixed
term,
Judiciary (Power of Judicial Review) – application of laws; may not enact or enforce
them (Sec. 1 Art. 8)
Judiciary Power – held by an independent Judiciary.

Purpose (TOOT): The doctrine of separation of powers is intended To prevent a concentration of

authority in one person Or group of persons that might lead to an irreversible error Or abuse in its
exercise To the detriment of our republican institutions.

*It is not independence but inter-dependence* (Legis enact laws. Exec enforce the laws
enacted by Legis. Judiciary apply the enforced law by the Exec enacted by the legis)
According to Justice Laurel, the doctrine is (SFPO) intended to Secure action, to Forestall over-
action, to Prevent despotism and to Obtain efficiency.

Is the Doctrine absolute? NO

1. PRINCIPLE OF BLENDING POWERS (ABS)

This is the instance when powers Are not confined exclusively within one department
But are assigned to or Shared by several departments. It is often necessary for certain powers to
be reposed in more than one department. So that they may collaborate with, and In process check,
each other for the public good.
EXAMPLES (PGAC)
1. Power of appointment (shared power) – which can be exercised by each
department and be rightfully exercised by each department over its own
administrative personnel.
 2. General Appropriations Law (shared power between president and congress)
– President prepares the budget which serves as the basis of the bill adopted
by Congress.
3. Amnesty granted by the President requires the concurrence of the majority of
all the members of the Congress.
4. COMELEC does not deputize law-enforcement agencies and
instrumentalities of the government for the purpose of ensuring free, orderly,
honest, peaceful and credible elections alone.

2. PRINCIPLE OF CHECKS AND BALCNES (ARRE)

Principle: It allows one department to resist encroachment upon it prerogatives or to rectify
mistakes or excesses committed by the other departments.

a. Executive Check of the other two branches:

Legislative
Through its VETO Power – a bill is
passed by the Congress
Judiciary
1. Through the Power of Pardon; it
may set aside the judgment of the
Judiciary. Dura Lex Sed Lex
2. Power of appointment – power
to appoint members of the
Judiciary

b. Legislative Check of the other two branches:

Executive
Override the Veto of the President and
Correct
Reject certain appointments made by
the President
Revoke the proclamation of martial or
suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
Impeachment
Judiciary
Revoke or amend the decisions by:
1. Enacting a new law
2. Amending a new law. Giving it
certain definition and
interpretation different from
the old
3. Impeachment of SC members
4. Define, prescribe, apportion
jurisdiction of lower courts:
a. Prescribe he qualification of
lower courts
b. Impeachment
c. Determination of salaries of
judges

c. Judiciary check of the other two branches:

Executive Legislative
It may declare (through the SC at the final arbiter) the acts of both executive and
legislative as unconstitutional or invalid so long as there is grave abuse of
discretion. (Art. VIII, Section 1)
 Complete (Expanded jurisdiction of the SC):

Section 1 Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution expanded the scope of judicial
power by mandating that the duty of the courts of justice includes not only “to
settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and
enforceable” but also “to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or
instrumentality of the Government” even if the latter does not exercise judicial,
quasi-judicial or ministerial functions

Judicial Review
- the power to declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law,
presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance or regulation
unconstitutional.
Requisites:
(1) there must be an actual case or justiciable controversy before the
Court;
(2) the question before the Court must be ripe for adjudication;
(3) the person challenging the act must be a proper party; and
(4) the issue of constitutionality must be raised at the earliest opportunity
and must be the very litis mota of the case

Judicial Legislation
- the move of a court to step in to craft missing parts, to fill in the gaps in laws, or
when it oversteps its discretional boundaries and goes beyond the law to coin
doctrines or principles which are not previously established.

2. DIFFERENT KIND OF STATUTES

General
 Public – one which affects the public at large or the whole community.
 General – one which applies to the whole state and operates throughout
the state alike upon all the people or all of a class.
 Special – relates to particular persons or things of a class or to a
particular community, individual, or thing.
 Local – confined to a specific place or locality.
 Private – applies only to a specific person or subject. (Family Law – marriage,
inheritance; Contract Law, Property Law, Tort Law)
According to duration:
 Permanent – one whose operation is not limited in duration but
continues until repealed
 Temporary – one whose duration is just for a limited period of time
fixed in the statute itself or whose life ceases upon the happening of an event.
(Bayanihan To Heal as One of 2020 RA 11469)
By Application:
 Prospective – applicable only to cases which shall only arise after its enactment.
 Retroactive – made to affect acts or fact occurring, or rights occurring before it
came to force.

By Operation:
 Declaratory – an act of removing doubts, clarifying and improving the law based
on the interpretation given by the court.
 Curative – a form of retrospective legislation which reaches back into the past to
operate upon the past events, acts or transactions in order to correct errors and
irregularities and to render valid and effective many attempted acts which
otherwise be ineffective for the purpose intended.
 Mandatory – statutes which require and not merely permit a course of action.
Generally, these laws contain the words “shall” or “must”.
 Directory – a statute which is permissive or discretionary in nature and merely
outlines the act to be done in such a way that no injury can result from ignoring it
or that its purpose can be accomplished in a manner other than that prescribed
and substantially the same result obtained.
 Substantive – written law that controls the rights and actions of all the persons
within the jurisdiction.
 Remedial – a statute providing means or method whereby causes of action may
be effectuated, wrongs redressed and relief obtained.
 Penal – defines criminal offenses and specifies corresponding fines and
punishments

By Form:
 Affirmative – directs the doing of the act or declares what shall be done.
 Negative – one that prohibits a thing from being done or declares what shall not be
done.
3. HOW BILL BECOMES A LAW.

A bill (Signed by the authors) is introduced

by any member of the Congress to the
Secretary of Nation Assembly.

National assembly will calendar for first

reading.

FIRST READING: Bill is read by its

number and title only.

Referred to appropriate committee for study

by the Speaker.

Conduction of Public hearing by the

appropriate committee.

Not favorable: bill is

Report: Favorable action of committee
dead.

Return to National assembly and will

calendar for second reading.

SECOND READING: The bill is read in its

entirety.
 Set for open debates where members of the
assembly may propose amendments and
insertions to the proposed bill.

Bill shall be voted.

THIRD READING: final vote by yeas and

At least 3 calendar days before its final
nay.
passage, the bill is printed in its final form After a house has approved their own
and copies thereof distributed to each of theversion, it will be transmitted to the other
members. house which will follow the same procedure.
If with amendments

If without amendments
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE: where
differences will be settled. Amendments
introduced in this level will have to be
approved by both houses for passage.

APPROVAL AND AUTHENTICATION:

signing of the Senate President and the
House Speaker and their respective
secretaries. (Enrolled Bill)

SUBMISSION TO THE PRESIDEDNT: If the President vetoes – send back to the

A bill is passed in three ways
1. When the president signs it
2. When the president does not sign nor
communicate his veto of the bill within 30
days after his receipt.
3. When the vetoed bill is repassed by
Congress by two-thirds of vote of all its
members, voting separately. (Overriding
Veto power of the President).
House where it originated with
recommendation
o 2/3 of all members approves, it will be
sent to the other house for approval
o 2/3 of the other house approves – it shall
become a law If president did not act on the
bill with in 30 days after receipt, bill
becomes a law

CONCEPT OF VETO POWER

 A presidential veto is a constitutional rule that enables a president to refuse assent to a bill that
has been passed by the legislature, and thereby to stop the bill from becoming law. The grounds
on which the veto power may be exercised and the difficulty of overturning the veto vary between
jurisdictions.

Distinction between Bill and a Law:

Bill – is a legislative proposal from the house of representatives and senate within the
Philippine congress. A bill does not become a law unless signed by the president of the republic
of the Philippines, but the house of representative may overturn the presidential veto by gathering
2/3rds vote.
Law – is a body of rules and actions or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and
having binding legal force. That which must be obeyed and followed by the citizens subject to
sanctions of legal consequences.
Legal Basis on How a Bill Becomes a Law.
The power of congress to enact laws and legislation is outlined by the following
provisions in the 1987 Constitution.
(Article VI – Section 26)
Every bill passed by congress shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof.
No bill passed by either House shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days,
and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its Members three days before its
passage, except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public
calamity or emergency. Upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed, and the
vote thereon shall be taken immediately thereafter, and the yeas and nays entered in the Journal.
(Article VI – Section 27)
Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President. If he
approves the same he shall sign it; otherwise, he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to
the House where it originated, which shall enter the objections at large in its Journal and proceed to
reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the Members of such House shall agree to
pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House by which it shall likewise be
reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a law. In all
such cases, the votes of each House shall be determined by yeas or nays, and the names of the Members
voting for or against shall be entered in its Journal. The President shall communicate his veto of any bill
to the House where it originated within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof, otherwise, it shall
become a law as if he had signed it.
The President shall have the power to veto any particular item or items in an appropriation, revenue, or
tariff bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object.

The Legislative Process

(Before) A congress bill becomes a law, it has to undergo a process with both Houses of Congress, namely
the House of Representative and the Senate of the Philippines.
4. DEFINE ENROLLED BILL
- The bill as passed by Congress, authenticated by the Speaker and Senate President and approved
by the President.

- PRINCIPLE: the text of the act as passed and approved is deemed 'importing absolute verity
and is binding on the courts. If there has been a mistake in the printing of the bill before it was
certified, the remedy is by amendment by enacting a curative legislation and not a judicial decree.

- Importing absolute verity and is binding on the courts

o It carries on its face a solemn assurance that it was passed by the assembly by
the legislative and executive departments.

Further readings:
The enrolled copy of a bill is conclusive not only of its provisions but also of its due enactment.
Not even claims that a proposed constitutional amendment was invalid because the requisite votes
for its approval had not been obtained or that certain provisions of a statute had been "smuggled"
in the printing of the bill, have moved or persuaded the court to look behind the proceedings of a
co-equal branch of the government. Attempts to have the doctrine re-examined or relaxed has so
far failed.

The reason why an enrolled bill is accorded conclusive verity lies in the fact that the enrolled bill
carries on its face a solemn assurance by the legislative and executive departments of the
government, charged respectively with the duty of enacting and executing the laws, that it was
passed by the assembly. The respect due to co-equal and independent departments requires the
judicial department to act upon that assurance, and to accept, as having passed the assembly, all
bills duly authenticated.

Courts cannot go behind the enrolled act to discover what really happened. The respect due to the
other branches of government demands that courts act upon the faith and credit of what the
officers of the said branches attest to as the official acts of their respective departments.
Otherwise, courts would be cast in the unenviable and unwanted role of a sleuth trying to
determine what actually did happen in the labyrinth of lawmaking, with consequent impairment
of the integrity of the legislative process. For if there be danger that officials concerned may
impose upon the people an act that was never passed in the form in which it is preserved in the
published statutes, there will be much greater danger of permitting the validity of a legislative
enactment to be questioned by evidence furnished by the general endorsements made by clerks
upon bills previous to their final passage and enrollment. Hence, if there has been any mistake in
the printing of the bill before it was certified by the officer of the assembly and approved by the
chief executive, the remedy is by amendment by enacting a curative legislation, not by judicial
decree.
The legislative journals, and the enrolled bill are both conclusive upon the courts. However,
where there is a discrepancy between the journal and the enrolled bill, the latter as a rule prevails
over the former, particularly with respect to matters not expressly required to be entered into the
legislative journal."

Legal Basis
1. Supreme Court Rulings: The Enrolled Bill Theory has been upheld in several
Supreme Court decisions in the Philippines. The Court has repeatedly ruled that once a bill is
duly enrolled and authenticated, it is conclusively presumed to have passed every step of the
legislative process correctly.
2. Case Law:
o Mabanag v. Lopez Vito (G.R. No. L-23611, 1964): The Supreme Court
held that the enrolled bill is conclusive upon the courts and can no longer be questioned,
affirming the Enrolled Bill Theory.
o Aldaba v. Commission on Elections (G.R. No. 188078, 2009): In this
case, the Court reiterated that the contents of an enrolled bill are binding and conclusive,
reinforcing the principle that courts will not look beyond the enrolled bill to verify the
procedures followed by the legislature.
o Alejo Mabanag vs Jose Lopez Vito

Petitioners include 3 senators and 8 representatives (this was in 1946). The three senators were
suspended by senate due to election irregularities. The 8 representatives were not allowed to take
their seats in the lower House except in the election of the House Speaker. They argued that some
senators and House Reps were not considered in determining the required ¾ vote (of each house)
in order to pass the Resolution (proposing amendments to the Constitution) – which has been
considered as an enrolled bill by then. At the same time, the votes were already entered into the
Journals of the respective House. As a result, the Resolution was passed but it could have been
otherwise were they allowed to vote. If these members of Congress had been counted, the
affirmative votes in favor of the proposed amendment would have been short of the necessary
three-fourths vote in either branch of Congress. Petitioners filed for the prohibition of the
furtherance of the said resolution amending the constitution. Respondents argued that the SC
cannot take cognizance of the case because the Court is bound by the conclusiveness of the
enrolled bill or resolution.

ISSUE: Whether or not the Court can take cognizance of the issue at bar. Whether or not the said
resolution was duly enacted by Congress.
HELD: As far as looking into the Journals is concerned, even if both the journals from each
House and an authenticated copy of the Act had been presented, the disposal of the issue by the
Court on the basis of the journals does not imply rejection of the enrollment theory, for, as already
stated, the due enactment of a law may be proved in either of the two ways specified in section
313 of Act No. 190 as amended. The SC found in the journals no signs of irregularity in the
passage of the law and did not bother itself with considering the effects of an authenticated copy
if one had been introduced. It did not do what the opponents of the rule of conclusiveness
advocate, namely, look into the journals behind the enrolled copy in order to determine the
correctness of the latter, and rule such copy out if the two, the journals and the copy, be found in
conflict with each other. No discrepancy appears to have been noted between the two documents
and the court did not say or so much as give to understand that if discrepancy existed it would
 give greater weight to the journals, disregarding the explicit provision that duly certified copies
“shall be conclusive proof of the provisions of such Acts and of the due enactment thereof.”
**Enrolled Bill – that which has been duly introduced, finally passed by both houses, signed by
the proper officers of each, approved by the president and filed by the secretary of state.
Section 313 of the old Code of Civil Procedure (Act 190), as amended by Act No. 2210, provides:
“Official documents may be proved as follows: . . . (2) the proceedings of the Philippine
Commission, or of any legislatives body that may be provided for in the Philippine Islands, or of
Congress, by the journals of those bodies or of either house thereof, or by published statutes or
resolutions, or by copies certified by the clerk of secretary, or printed by their order; Provided,
That in the case of Acts of the Philippine Commission or the Philippine Legislature, when there is
an existence of a copy signed by the presiding officers and secretaries of said bodies, it shall be
conclusive proof of the provisions of such Acts and of the due enactment thereof.”
The SC is bound by the contents of a duly authenticated resolution (enrolled bill) by the
legislature. In case of conflict, the contents of an enrolled bill shall prevail over those of the
journals.

5. EXPLAIN THE PRINCIPLE IS STAT CON

a. Do not interpret the law that killeth, but that which giveth life.
 The spirit, rather than the letter of a statute determines its construction, hence, a
statute must be read according to its spirit or intent.
 A thing which is within the intent of the lawmaker is as much within the statute as if
within the letter; and a thing which is within the letter of the statute is not within the
statute unless within the intent of the lawmakers. (Atty. Alvin Claridades)
 Rigs vs Palmer: Murdered his grandfather so that he could inherit the money. Should
the court give the inheritance?
o Nothing in the statute explicitly prevented murderers from going on to inherit
from those they murdered. But it didn't seem right to the majority of judges
on the New York Court of Appeals that a murderer should be allowed to gain
from his dastardly deed.
o Not the words but the intentions of the lawmakers in drafting the statute
should be controlling here under a theory of "rational interpretation" or
"equitable construction"
o Common law maxim: No one shall profit from their own wrongdoing.
 b. EJUSDEM GENERIS
 is a Latin phrase that means “of the same kind.”
 States that where general words or phrases follow a number of specific words or
phrases, the general words are specifically construed as limited and apply only to
persons or things of the same kind or class as those expressly mentioned.
 For example, if a law refers to automobiles, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, and other
motor-powered vehicles, a court might use ejusdem generis to hold that such vehicles
would not include airplanes, because the list included only land-based transportation.

5. WHAT IS THE “FOUR CORNERS” RULE VIS-A-VIŚ CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO BY

CONTRACTING PARTIES

FOUR CORNERS RULE

The four corners rule contract law, also known as the patrol evidence rule, stipulates that if two
parties enter into a written agreement, they cannot use oral or implied agreements in court to
contradict the terms of the written agreement. The term "four corners" refers to the four corners of
a document. If the terms of the contract are clear with no doubt as to the intentions of the
contracting parties, then the literal meaning of the stipulations shall control.
(Civil Code, Article 1370).

Basically, it implies that the only legal parts of the contract are within the four corners of a page
or online document. If there is evidence that exists outside of these four corners, they cannot be
used in court if they directly contradict the terms of the written contract.

LEGAL BASIS:

In the case of Abad v Goldloop, (G.R. No. 168108) the court’s ruling cited that: The cardinal rule
in the interpretation of contracts is embodied in the first paragraph of Article 1370 of the Civil
Code: "If the terms of a contract are clear and leave no doubt upon the intention of the contracting
parties, the literal meaning of its stipulations shall control." This provision is akin to the "plain
meaning rule" applied by Pennsylvania courts, which assumes that the intent of the parties to an
instrument is "embodied in the writing itself, and when the words are clear and unambiguous the
intent is to be discovered only from the express language of the agreement." It also resembles the
"four corners" rule, a principle which allows courts in some cases to search beneath the semantic
surface for clues to meaning.

WHEN THE RULE APPLY

Types of evidence not valid in court due to the four corners rule include:
• Conversations about the signing of the contract
• Written evidence that is not part of the original written contract
• Comments from the defendant or plaintiff who are in a breach of contract case

LIMITATIONS:
It may not cover situations where there is ambiguity or where the contract incorporates other
documents by reference.